Acetylene-gas generator.



PATENTED OUT. 22. 1907.'

C. W. HOLM. AGETYLENE GAS GENERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 2. 1906.

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PATENTED OUT. 22. 1907'.

0. W. HOLM. AGETYLENB GAS GENERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED APB.2,1906.

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PATENTED 001. 22. 1907.

' G. W. HOLM.

AGETYLENE GAS GENERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 2, 1906. I

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No- 868.988. I PATENTED OCT. 22, 1907.

C. W. HOLM. AGBTYLENE GAS GENERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED AFB. 2. 1906.

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CHARLES W. HOLM, OF TROY, OHIO.

ACETYLENE-G-AS GENERATOR.

Application filed April 21 To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES the Unitec States, residing at Troy, Miamiand useful Improvements in Acetylene-Gas Generators, of which thefollowing is a specification, reference being had therein to theaccompanying drawings.

This invention relates to acetylene gas generators, and moreparticularly to that class in which the carbid of calcium isautomatically dropped into water as required to renew the supply of gas.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple, compact andinexpensive generator, which shall be sale and economical in operation,and requiring a mini- W. HoLM, a citizen of in the county of mum ofattention, so as to be particularly adapted for use in small isolatedlighting plants, such as are used for domestic or factory lighting.

To this end my invention consists in certain novel features which I willnow proceed to describe and will then particularly point out in theclaims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1. is a vertical sectional view ofan apparatus embodying my invention in one form, the same being taken onthe line cc IU of Fig. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows,Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same; Fig. 3 is a plan section, taken onthe line y y of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig.4 is a side elevation, partly broken away, of the hopper and feedmechanism, the surrounding parts being shown in section; Fig. 5 is ashowing a front elevation of the hopper and leed mechanism; Fig. dis adetail vertical sectional view, taken on the line 2' Z of Fig. 5 andlooking in the direction of the arrows, Fig. 7 is a detail verticalsectional view, showing the feed-bar and its relations to thesurrounding parts; Fig. 8 is a detail vertical sectional view,illustrating the means for limiting the vertical movement of thefeedjbar; and Fig. 9 is a detail front elevation, showing the valveswhich control the generating chamber outlet and gas bell inlet pipes.

In the said drawings, the structure as a whole is shown as mounted in anopen topped receptacle or tank, comprising a cylindric wall or body 1,having a bottom 2, above which is located a diaphragm or partition 3,form ing below the samea generating chamber 4, in which a suitablesupply of water is maintained, and above the same a sealing chamber 5,in which a supply of water independent of and cut off from that of thegenerating chamber is maintained. In this sealing chamber are locatedthe carbid hopper and its inclosing tank, and also the gas receiving andstoring bell, which, by its rise and fall as the gas is generated andconsumed, opcrates the carbid feed in the manner hereinafter set forth.

Referring first to the carbid feeding mechanism, the inclosing tanktherefor comprises a fixed cylindiic wall 6, the lower end of which fitsaround an aperture 7 in similar view Specification of Letters Patent.

and State of Ohio, have invented certain new Patented Oct. 22, 1907.

1906. Serial No. 309,298.

the diaphragm 3, through which it communicates with the generatingchamber 4. Over this cylinder iits loosely an outer cylinder 8,detachably secured to the main wall 1 of the tank, said outer cylinderterminating above the diaphragm 3, so as to permit the sealing liquid torise between the cylinders 6 and 8 and prevent the escape of gas betweenthem. The cylinder 8 is closed at its top against the escape of gas,being there provided with a closure 9, through which the carbidreceptacle 10 may be inspected and refilled. This lat ter receptacle isremovably secured at its upper end to the upper end of the cylinder 6,and extends down into the same a considerable distance, so as to permitthe receptacle to be made of a length suflicient to give it amplestorage capacity without unduly increasing the height of the apparatus,thus adapting it for convenient use in places of limited height, such ascellars, and at the same time reducing the distance which the carbid hasto fall when discharged from the receptacle.

The lower end of the receptacle 10 has a hoppershaped or sloping bottom11, terminating in a circular discharge mouth 12. Below this month thereis provided a swinging measuring receptacle or discharge bucket 13,closed at its sides, front and back, provided with a pivoted bottom, andopen at its top, below which the discharge mouth of the carbidreceptacle extends or is located. The rear wall of this bucket issomewhat shorter than the side and front walls, being of a height suchas to just swing under the mouth 12 of the receptacle 10, and from thisrear wall therejextends rearward a cut-off 14, composed of a bodyportion 15, which closes the mouth 12 when the bucket is swung forward,and lateral upstanding flanges 16, which prevent any escape of thecarbid at the sides of the cut-off. a

The bucket 13 is pivotally suspended by means of arms 17, which arepivoted at 18 to a yoke 19, secured to and depending from the receptacle10. The bottom cross bar 20 of this yoke extends across the space belowthe bucket 13, and is provided with a cross piece or shoe 21, whichnormally supports the pivoted bottom 22 of the bucket 13. This latter ispivoted at the rear of the bucket in any suitable manner, as, forinstance, by means of cars or straps 23 on the bucket, through which thepivot 25 passes. The bottom is provided with lateral flanges 26, toprevent the escape of carbid at the sides of the bottom, and ispreferably supported on the shoe 21 by means of a central rib 27, whilethe shoe is provided with a stop 28, which, by its contact with the rearend of the rib, limits the rearward motion of the bucket, and insuresits arrest on its return movement in a position proper to receive thenext charge without spilling any carbid.

The swinging movement of the bucket is immediately effected by means ofa bell-crank lever 29,

, pivoted at 30 on the yoke 19. One end of this lever is slotted, asshown at 31, to engage a pin 32 on the bucket 13. This pin is shown assupported and braced by a bracket 33 from one of the arms 1'7. The otherend of the lever 29 is pivoted at 34 to a feed bar 35. This latter fromthe point of pivotal connection 34 passes up through a suitable guide 36on the receptacle 10, and thence downward between the cylinders 6 and 8,being bent upon itself below this latter, as indicated at 37, andextending thence upward between the cylinder 8 and main tank wall 1 to asuitable connection with the feed-lever. The upper end of the feed-bar35 passes through a double bracket 38, mounted on the tank wall 1, andis provided with a stop-lug 39, which travels on a guide pin 40 betweenthe arms of said bracket, said arms serving to limit the movements ofthe feed-bar to the extent necessary to give the proper range of motionto the feed bucket 13. The upper end of the feed-bar lies in the path ofa bearing plate 41 on the feed-lever 42, with which it is held incontact throughout the range of movement of the feed-bar by a spring 43,secured at its upper end to the feed-lever and at its lower end to thefeedbar. The feed-lever is pivoted at one end, adjacent to itsconnection with the feed-bar, to a bracket 44. mounted on the main tankwall 1. This bracket has a pliu'ality of pivot-holes 45, arranged atdifferent heights, to receive the pivot-bolt 46, thus permittingvertical shifting of the fulcrum of the feed-lever to suit varyingconditions. The other end of the feedlever passes through a bracket 47on top of the gasbell 48, said bracket being provided with bearingrollers 49 above and below said lever, so as to prevent lost motion andat the same time avoid excessive friction and binding-of the parts. Thisextremity of the feed lever is bent or curved, as indicated at 50, toreduce the movement of the lever during that portion of its travel whichdoes not affect the feedbar.

The bell 48, in which the gas from the generator is stored, is mountedin the sealing tank 5, in which it has a limited vertical movement,rising and falling as the gas accumulates or is withdrawn from the bell.lt is guided by a central depending tube 51, which fits somewhat looselyover a fixed escape pipe 52, acting as a safety device to preventexcessive accumulations of gas from so lifting the bell as to permit theescape of gas around the same. When the bell reaches a predeterminedheight, the water seal between the tubes or pipes 51 and 52 no longerprevents the passage of gas, and the gas from the top of the bell passesup between the two pipes, enters the top of the escape pipe, throughwhich it is conducted to a safe point of discharge.

Within the bell 48 there are located an inlet pipe 53 and outlet pipe54. These pipes are secured on the diaphragm 3, the latter communicatingwith the supply pipe or main 55. The former passes down through thediaphragm and communicates with the generating chamber 4. The bell issupported relatively to the guide pipe 51 by being secured at its top tothe upper end of said pipe, which it closes, while a brace 56 connectsthe lower end of the bell to the said guide pipe. A fixed stopprojection 57, preferably secured to the outlet pipe 54, lies in thepath of the brace 56, and serves to limit the upward movement of thebell, preventing its displacement by excessive gas pressure.

In order to provide for a washing of the gas as it comes assess from thegenerating chamber and before it enters the gas space at the top of thebell, the upper end of the inlet pipe 53, which is carried above thewater line within the bell to prevent the water entering said pipe, isprovided with a return bend 53, which brings the discharge mouth of saidpipe below the water line, as clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings.The gas is thus compelled to pass through the water before eccaping intothe bell, and is thereby washed and purified.

Provision is made for automatically preventing backflow of gas from thebell or the main system supplied therefrom when the generator dischargepipe is opened for cleaning purposes. To this end, the generatordischarge pipe 58 is provided with a cut-off valve 59 at its outer end,of the swinging gate type, provided with an operating handle 60, andconnected by arms 61 with a pivot 62 on top of the pipe 58. A guide 63carried by these parts is arranged at right angles to the pivot 62. Theinlet pipe 53, instead of communicating directly through the diaphragm 3with the generating chamber 4, is extended horizontally outward throughthe side wall of the latter and provided with a return bend, itsreceiving mouth opening into the generating chamber as indicated at 64.In this external part of the inlet pipe there is provided a stop cock orshut-off valve 65, the stem whereof has an operating handle or lever 66.To this lever is pivoted the upper end of a connecting rod 67, the lowerend of which slides in the guide 63. From this construction it will beseen that when the discharge valve of the generator chamber is opened towash out said chamber and discharge the water and sludge therefrom, thevalve in the inlet pipe will be au tomatically closed, so that no gascan flow back from the bell, or from the lighting system connectedtherewith, into the generating chamber, and the escape of this gas fromsaid chamber when its discharge pipe is open is thus prevented. When thesaid discharge valve is again closed, the inlet pipe valve isautomatically opened, and communication between the generating chamberand the bell is reestablished.

In order to prevent undue access of moisture to the carbid in thereceptacle 10, the cylinder 6 is provided near its lower end with ahopper 68, having oppositely inclined bottom discharge walls 69 and 70,the space between the adjacent margins of which forms an outlet,controlled by a valve 71, pivoted to the part 69. The stem 72 of thisvalve is connected by a spring 73 with a downward extension of thefeed-bar 35, so that, while the valve 71 is normally closed, preventingthe moisture from the generating chamber from rising to the carbid inthe receptacle 10, said valve 71 will open when the bucket 13discharges, thereby permitting the passage of the carbid to thegenerating chamber, and will again close when the carbid has passed.This construction also aids in breaking the fall of the carbid anddiminishes the splashing caused by the fall thereof into the water inthe generating chamber.

As the spent carbid accumulates in the generating chamber under thecylinder 6, provision is made for the removal of same to make way forthe succeeding charges of fresh carbid. To this end I provide a sweep74, working over the space below the opening 7 and secured to arock-shaft 75. This rock-shaft extends upward through a tubular housingor bearing 76, mounted on the diaphragm 3 and provided at its upper endwith a stuffing-box 77, to prevent the escape of gas. The rock-shaftextends upward beyond this stuffing-box, and its projecting upper end isprovided with an operating handle 78, by means of which said shaft maybe operated to swing the sweep across the space below the carbidcylinder and clear away the spent carbid.

Within the carbid receptacle 10 there is located at the top of thehopper bottom a bridge-piece 79, of inverted V-shape, to preventbridging of the carbid at this point.

80 indicates an indicating rod, which is fastened to or mounted in thetop of the cylinder 8 in such a way as to be capable of vibrating.Usually, I prefer to form this connection by securing the rod directlyto the top where it passes through, the top being sufficiently thin andflexible to permit the necessary vibration of the rod. The lower end ofsaid rod extends down below the bridge-piece 79 toward the dischargemouth of the receptacle, while its upper end is visible above the top ofthe apparatus. When the receptacle is empty, or practically so, theupper end of the rod assumes its normal position, which ,is, forinstance, the inclined position shown in full lines. When the receptacleis charged with carbid, the pressure thereof against the lower end ofsaid rod moves the same over until its upper end is in, say, a verticalposition, thereby indicating the presence of carbid in the receptacle,and this position is maintained until the passing out of the carbidpermits the rod to move back to its normal position, thereby indicatingthe necessity of a new charge.

The detailed operation of the separate mechanisms has already beendescribed in connection with their construction. The general operation,which will be readily understood, is, briefly stated, as follows,assuming that the apparatus has been properly charged and gas generatedtherein. As the supply of gas in the bell is withdrawn, said bell movesdownward, and actuates the feed-lever 42, moving the same downward untilit comes into contact with the upper end of the feed-bar 35. This latterthen moves downward with the lever, swinging the charging or measuringbucket 13 forward and moving the cut-off 14 under the discharge mouth ofthe receptacle 1.0, to prevent the further discharge of carbidtherefrom. The bucket 13 continues to move forward until the bottom 22thereof is no longer sup ported by the shoe 21, whereupon the saidbottom swings down, the position of the parts at this time being shownin dotted lines in Fig. 4 of the drawings, and a definite, measuredquantity of carbid, the contents of the bucket 13, is discharged. Thevalve 71 is now open, and the charge of carbid passes down into thewater in the generating chamber, generating acetylene gas. This gaspasses through the inlet pipe 53 into the bell 43, causing said bell torise and move the feed-lever 42 upward. Since the spring 43 holdsthe-feed-bar 35 in contact with said lever, said feed-bar also movesupward, closing the valve 71 and moving the bucket 13 and its associatedparts back tothe position shown in full lines in Fig. 4-. The bucket nowreceives another charge of carbid. The feed-bar continues to move upwardwith the feed-lever until the stop provided for that purpose arrests it,whereupon the spring 43 permits the continued movement of the leveruntil the bell ceases to rise. Upon a proper decrease in the amount ofgasin the bell, the same cycleof operations renews the supply.

-mouth and pivoted to said It willbe seen that by the employment of abucket or receptacle of the character described, I am enabled to feed adefinitely measured charge of carbid at each operation, and to usecarbid in lumps of relatively large size. Various other advantageousfeatures have been pointed out in the preceding portion of thisspecification, and from a consideration of the foregoing, it will beunderstood that the apparatus is compact, simple, automatic in itsfeeding operations, easily attended by unskilled persons, and providedwith the necessary safeguards to prevent accident and insure the properhandling thereof.

I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to theexact details of construction shown and described, for obviousmodifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a gas generator of the character described, a carbid receptaclehaving a downwardly directed discharge mouth, in combination with ameasuring; receptacle in the form of a swinging bucket located normallybelow said receptacle above said mouth, a cut-'off carried by saidbucket and adapted to close said mouth when the bucket is swung awaytherefrom, a hinged bottom for said bucket, and means for first swingingsaid bucket away from said mouth and dropping said bottom,

and for then returning said bucket to its normal position and closingsaid bottom, substantially as described.

2. In a gas generator of the character described, a carbid receptaclehaving a downwardly directed discharge mouth, in combination with ameasuring receptacle in the form of a swinging bucket located normallybelow said mouth, provided with a cutoff to close said mouth when thebucket is swung away therefrom, and having a hinged bottom, a fixed shoesupporting said bottom when thebucket is in normal position, and meansfor swinging said bucket from and to said mouth, said bottom droppingwhen the bucket is clear of the mouth and the bottom clear of the shoe,to drop the charge, said shoe acting to restore the bottom to closedposition as the bucket begins to return to normal position,substantially as described.

In a gas generator of the character described, a gasreceiving bell, incombination with a carbid receptacle having a downwardly directeddischarge mouth, a swinging measuring bucket located normally below saidmouth, provided with a cut-off to close said mouth when the bucket isswung away therefrom, and having a hinged bottom, a fixed shoesupporting said bottom when the bucket is in normal position, andmechanism connecting said bell and bucket to swing the latter away fromsaid mouth when the bell falls, said bottom falling when the bucket isclear of said month, said mechanism acting to swing the bucket backacting to restore the bottom to closed position as the bucket begins toreturn to normal position, substantially as described.

at. In a gas generator of the character described, a gas bell, and afeed-lever operated thereby, in combination with a cai-bidi'eceptacle, adischarge device therefor, a teedbar operatively connected with saiddischarge device, a spring connecting said feed bar and feed-lever, afixed bracket having a guide-pin, and a stop1ug on the feed-bar engagingsaid pin and cooperating with the bracket arms to limit the movement ofthe feed-bar, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my of two witnesses.

signature in presence CHARLES XV. HOLM.

Witnesses E. O. Hams, I'IARRIE'I IIAMMAKER.

to normal position when the bell rises, and said shoe

